Getty Images for NASCARRon Silk has finished in the top five at NHMS in five of the previous six Whelen Modified Tour events.

NASCAR Press Release by Jason Cunningham

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 20, 2011) – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the third and final time in 2011 with the New Hampshire 100 on Saturday, Sept. 24 in Loudon, N.H.

· Leads all drivers in laps completed with 1,828, two shy of the entire season’s total.

· Has eight top 10s in 19 career starts at NHMS with a best finish of third in 2005. Has finishes of 11th and fifth at NHMS in 2011.

Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 Chevrolet)
• The 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
• Has a win, two poles and 14 top 10s in 29 starts.
• Is up to seventh in points with a win and seven top 10s, including the last five races in a row.
• Has four previous starts at NHMS. The fourth-place effort in August was his first top-10 at the track.
• Is the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 2011 Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway champion.

Ted Christopher (No. 36 Chevrolet)
· The 2008 NWMT champion. Has 41 wins and 23 poles in 304 career starts. His 41 wins rank third all-time and his 23 poles are eighth. Has at least one win in 13-straight seasons.

· Is 11th in points with three wins and nine top 10s in 11 starts this year.

· Has five wins and five poles in 44 career NWMT starts at NHMS. Was 10th and 28th there this year.

· Also has five NASCAR K&N Pro Series East wins at NHMS to make him the track’s winningest driver.

James Civali (No. 79 Pontiac)
· Has four wins a pole and 36 top 10s in 70 career NWMT starts. Also has two wins, three poles and 12 top 10s in 16 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour appearances.

· Is ninth in the 2011 NWMT standings with six top 10s in 13 races.

· Has four top 10s in 10 NHMS starts with a best effort of second in his debut at the track in 2006. Has finishes of 16th and seventh there this season.

Doug Coby (No. 52 Chevrolet)
· Has two wins, four poles and 44 top 10s in 113 career starts.

· Is fifth in points with nine top 10s in 13 races this year. Won both the regular and exhibition races at Thompson International Speedway in the UNOH Showdown.

· Has a pole and eight top 10s in 16 NHMS races with a best finish of fourth on three occasions. Was fourth and 10th in the first two races there this year.

Matt Hirschman (No. 3 Chevrolet)
· Has two wins, three poles and 34 top 10s in 70 career starts.

· Is eighth in points with top-10 finishes in five of 13 races this year.

· Has three top 10s in eight starts at NHMS with a best finish of third in this year’s July race. Was 22nd in the August return trip.

Ryan Newman (No. 77 Chevrolet)
· Has four wins, three poles and five top 10s in eight career NWMT starts.

· Has two wins, three poles and three top 10s in five official starts at NHMS.

· In his two starts this year he was disqualified from a win at NHMS in July and then won at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.

· Has 23 combined victories in NASCAR’s three national series, including three at NHMS. His first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win came there in 2002 and he won this July’s event from the pole.

Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Chevrolet)
· Has a win and 35 top 10s in 70 career starts.

· Is third in points with 10 top 10s in 13 races. Held the points lead the first six races of the season.

· Has three top 10s in 10 races at NHMS with a best finish of fourth in 2009. Has posted finishes of fifth and 16th there in 2011.

· Has five top 10s in nine races at NHMS. He was ninth in July and recorded an overall career-best finish of second in the August event.

Ryan Preece (No. 40 Chevrolet)
• Has three wins, four poles and 33 top 10s in 64 career starts.
• Has four top 10s in seven appearances in 2011.
• Has five top 10s in 10 career starts at NHMS with a best finish of third on three occasions. Has finishes of 26th and seventh there this season.
• Is the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 2011 Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway champion.

Erick Rudolph (No. 98 Chevrolet)
• Has a win, two poles and 25 top 10s in 48 career starts.
• Is 10th in points with six top 10s in 13 outings.
• Has three top 10s in seven career races at NHMS with a best finish of fourth in 2010. First two races there this year have netted finishes of 16th and ninth.

Bobby Santos (No. 4 Dodge)

· Earned the 2010 NWMT championship.

· Has six wins, seven poles and 29 top 10s in 56 career starts.

· Is sixth in points this year with a win, three poles and six top 10s in 13 outings.

· Has five top 10s in 10 career NHMS races with a best finish of fourth on two occasions. Has finishes of 12th and sixth there this year.

Ron Silk (No. 6 Chevrolet)

· Has six wins, four poles and 50 top 10s in 94 career starts.

· Trails Todd Szegedy by 12 points in the standings. Has two wins and 10 top 10s in 13 races.

· Has a win and nine top 10s in 15 career races at NHMS. The win came in this event in 2009. He has finishes of second and 11th in the first two races there this year.

· Is 12th in points with a win and six top 10s in 12 starts. The win came at NHMS in August.

· Is tied for the record with seven wins at NHMS and has 29 top 10s in 46 career NWMT starts there. He finished 27th in the July event and on this date last year he crossed the line third.

Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Ford)

· The 2002 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and 2003 tour champion.

· Has 17 wins, nine poles and 96 top 10s in 150 career starts.

· Took the points lead last time out with a win from the pole at Lime Rock Park. He has two wins and podium finishes in six of the last eight events. Was credited with the July NHMS win.

· Has two wins, a pole and 13 top 10s in 18 career NHMS starts. Was third in the August visit.

Up to Speed:

· Bobby Santos broke his own track record in qualifying for the season opener at Thompson International Speedway while Ted Christopher took the checkered flag on April 10.

· Doug Coby was the pole winner at Stafford Motor Speedway for the Spring Sizzler and Santos took home the checkered flag on May 1.

· Ron Silk won from the pole at SMS on May 27.

· Todd Szegedy followed Silk’s example as he captured the pole and led all 175 laps en route to victory at Monadnock Speedway on June 26. The race was postponed a day due to rain.

· In the second of four races at TIS this year, Christopher earned the pole and then came from outside the top 15 with 25 laps left to earn the victory on June 30.

· Ryan Newman took the pole and the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, but Szegedy was awarded the victory after Newman was disqualified due to post-race technical violations.

· Justin Bonsignore earned his first NWMT victory at his home track when he took the checkers at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway on July 30. Local competitor Howie Brode also captured his first NWMT pole award prior to the race.

· Christopher retuned to Victory Lane once again at Stafford when he took the Town Fair Tire 150 checkered flag on Aug. 5. Coby earned the pole earlier in the day.

· Mike Stefanik tied Tony Hirschman for the most NWMT career wins at NHMS with his seventh on Aug. 13. Santos earned the pole as the NWMT shared the race weekend at ‘Magic Mile’ with the IZOD IndyCar Series.

· Santos earned his third pole and Newman once again proved to be unbeatable as he led 109 of 150 laps in the NWMT-NWSMT combination race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 24.

· Erick Rudolph captured his second career pole and Silk his sixth career victory in the inaugural event at Delaware (Ont.) Speedway on Sept. 4.

· Ryan Preece nabbed the pole and Coby the win in the Northern Thompson 125 on Sept. 11 at TIS. Coby followed later in the day by taking checkers in the exhibition UNOH Showdown.

· Szegedy earned the pole and had to make a late-race charge to reach Victory Lane for his first NWMT road course win at Lime Rock Park on Sept. 17.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

History

· Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway was Aug. 13, 1989.

· The official opening was June 5, 1990 and the first NASCAR event was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race on July 15, 1990.

· The first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race was held on Sept. 2, 1990.

· The track was renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2008.

· The largest racing oval – and the largest sports facility overall – in New England.

Notebook

· There have been 54 all-time NWMT races at NHMS, the most of any facility outside of Connecticut.

· This year marks the first time there will be three races at NHMS in the same season since 1999.

· There have been 17 different race winners, led by Tony Hirschman and Mike Stefanik with seven apiece. Todd Szegedy was credited with the win in July while Stefanik took the checkers in August.

· There have been 23 different pole winners, led by Jan Leaty’s six. Bobby Santos earned his first NHMS pole in the August event.

· The July race was the fastest in terms of time (51:11) and average speed (124.025 mph) in the history of 100-lap events at NHMS.